Clean up and cash in

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Cleaning your car will save you hundreds
Scruffy cars may end up at auction
Dealers consider cleaning costs when pricing cars

Latest News

Simply cleaning your car on a regular basis could save private sellers hundreds of pounds, says used-car researcher Vehicle Information Publishing.

VIP says private owners who plan to part exchange their cars are losing out if they don’t look after them. Owners may think that they'll only lose a few pounds if they don't look after them, but traders can spot the tell-tale signs of a poor ownership and will offer you considerably less than car's price guide value.

Dealers will consider how much it will cost to refurbish scruffy vehicles. Often they have to decide whether a car goes to auction or on a forecourt. If it goes on the forecourt the dealer stands to make more – maybe even £2000 more. This will be reflected in the part-exchange deal.

VIP says it is surprised private sellers are not carrying out the most simple of car maintenance because there is a shortage of clean used cars for sale.

Martin Keighley, from VIP, said: ‘The average UK car owner is lazy because they don’t clean their car often enough or well enough (wax is better than water).

'They can also do themselves a lot of favours by carrying out basic maintenance such as checking tyre pressures and oil levels. If they bother to get minor dents, scratches and stone chips repaired they will reap the rewards later on.

'The cost of this maintenance and repair is small considering the amount they stand to lose when it comes to sale or trade-in time.'